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Howard Tate Dead: Soul Singer Dies From Leukemia

Posted Dec 6th 2011 1:45PM by Georgette Cline
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Ebet Roberts, Redferns

Veteran soul crooner Howard Tate died late last week at the age of 72 from complications of multiple myeloma and leukemia.

The Georgia-born Philadelphia-bred singer passed away on Dec. 2. Tate's death comes at a time when he was reviving his music career. The singer, who made a name for himself in the '60s and late '70s, had six Top 40 R&B hits, among them 'Ain't Nobody Home and 'Stop.'

While he was generally accepted, Tate chose to hang up his mic and dropped out of the music industry several years after his third album, 'Howard Tate,' released in 1972. He took on work in the financial industry then became plagued with a cocaine addiction that left him homeless. The 'Baby I Love You' creator cleaned up his act by going to rehab and worked as a counselor and a preacher in Philadephia.

In 2001, Tate emerged from his musical hiatus, recording new albums since he disappeared from the industry. He dropped 2003's 'Rediscovered' and 2006's 'A Portrait of Howard,' which included covers of songs by Lou Reed and Randy Newman.

Listen to Howard Tate's 'All I Know Is the Way I Feel'

Watch 'What is Leukemia'